Amnesiac
by illutia mist
Summary: For NatsumeSeries Contest #2. Tonight, just for once, he allowed himself to forget all things but him and her together.


**For NatsumeSeries Contest #2. Visit Romantically Loveless or The Unknown Abyss' profiles or contact them for more information.**

'_The weddings you planned are always great.'_

'_Are they?'_

'_Mhm…I wish I can have a wonderful wedding ceremony like that too…one day…'_

That was what she always said every time he visited her after working. Her hands were folded on her lap, a bright smile on her face. Even though she had no make up and was clad in white patient clothes, she looked beautiful in his eyes. She indeed got thinner and paler every time he visited her, but that would never change his view about her.

However, this sight wouldn't last for long. He had a hunch she would go soon.

And sometimes, he hoped he could just forget the spiteful fact, just wanting to stop the needle of time, so she could stay by his side longer.

**-x-**

**Amnesiac**

**-x-**

Red, purple, green, pink, orange, and white.

Since fifteen minutes ago, all he did was just watching the rows of colorful flowers in front of him. While inside his head, he was trying to figure out which the best flower he thought suited a certain brunette. His crimson eyes darted from one flower to another, from red rose to pink camellia, as he imagined how it would look like to have them decorating the secret modest party he was currently planning.

He had decided the theme he would use, the place where it would be held and everything he needed to make the party successful. He wanted this first private party of his to be memorable, especially for him and her. He wanted it to be perfect.

And for once in his life, Natsume Hyuga was thankful for choosing the wedding planner as a career, even though it was just to replace his sister in case if she overworked herself and was hospitalized. Having done the job for five years now, he had taste in planning and making parties, well, wedding parties. But even so, that didn't help him too much this time. He still encountered some difficulties in the progress.

"I think she'll like this."

The gentle female's voice drew his attention away from the full blooming flowers. Standing near the cashier was his sister, Aoi Hyuga, who was currently admiring white flowers in a big vase. "Daisies?" he confirmed, stepping away from the spot he had occupied for fifteen minutes.

His sister turned to him, holding one white daisy and one white carnation in her hands and smiling. "Somehow, I think these resemble her in a way," she said and looked up at her big brother with hopeful eyes. "Don't you think so?"

He stared at her for a while and brought his gaze down to the flowers in her hands, especially the daisy. Its white petals bloomed perfectly and circled the yellow stamen, looking like a white crown. The white carnation had no yellow stamen or smooth petals like the daisy, but its jaggy edged petals made the flower unique in its own way.

Taking them from Aoi's hands, he put the flowers together in his hands and fell silent, deep in his thought. A few moments later, a small smile graced his face as he ran his thumb on the stems.

"White carnations and daisies," he muttered, loud enough for his sister to hear.

Aoi nodded and repeated, "White carnations and daisies."

_They are perfect._

He turned to the cashier, who was watching them from the counter all the time, and lifted the flowers in his hand a bit. "I buy these."

He watched as the female worker walked approaching them and started to ask him questions of how many flowers he wanted to purchase and how he would like the payment to be. He didn't say much, just giving her short answers before taking out his credit card and saying he wanted the flowers to be delivered to a certain place he had chosen for the party.

When the cashier was busy processing his payment, his cell-phone rang. Excusing himself, Natsume ambled away and picked up his phone. "Hyuga's here," he muttered into the speaker as he watched his sister take his credit card from the cashier.

A brief silence met him before Hotaru's monotone voice was heard. "_She had nosebleed…again…_"

His blood ran cold, his grip on his cell-phone tightening. He tried to make any voice, but his throat felt like being knotted by something invisible. It wasn't until ten seconds later that he realized he also had been holding his breath upon hearing the news from Hotaru's mouth. Slowly reminding himself how to breathe, he inhaled and spoke, "How is she now?"

"_She's fine,_" came her short reply. "_She's resting now._"

He breathed in relief upon hearing her answer. However, there was something in her voice that irked his curiosity. The way she replied his question, short and firm, it was as if she was restraining her emotions, trying not to show whatever she was feeling at that time.

Seconds later, Natsume closed his eyes in acknowledgment. He didn't need to ask, recognizing well what she was trying to keep away from the world. It was just the same thing he had been trying to hide all this time, ever since he learned more about the brunette and even grew feelings for her.

Worry.

This single emotion kept rising inside him from time to time and sometimes freaked him out, though he didn't show it blatantly to public; not even to his relatives, friends, or his sister. But they might have sensed it, seeing as it was crawling under his skin and engulfing him most of the time whenever her name was mentioned. It just increased more whenever he heard bad news about her.

"_Hyuga._"

He snapped out of his thought upon hearing his name being called.

"…_Please do this right. There's no second chance._"

Submission could be heard in the woman's voice. Even at that time, he could imagine the usual expressionless female closed her eyes in misery as those words came out of her lips.

But he didn't need to be reminded.

He knew perfectly the burden he was carrying now, and he would accomplish his plan.

"I know," was his simple answer before he ended the phone and sauntered back to the counter where his sister was waiting.

Behind his ribs, his heart was beating fast, so quick he thought it could burst out anytime soon. He tried to calm himself, clenching and unclenching his hands a few times to get off the unpleasing feeling away from his mind. But no matter how many times he convinced himself that the brunette was fine just like what Hotaru told him, he couldn't feel completely relieved. There was something familiar lurking in the dark corner of his heart, sending bad vibes through his veins.

"Who is that?" Aoi asked once he had arrived in front of her and handed his credit card back to him.

"Imai." He took out his wallet and shoved his card back inside.

Her eyes were immediately clouded with worry. "Is she alright?"

Natsume stilled for a moment and nodded, but said nothing as he turned to his back and made his way to his car which was parked outside the flower shop.

He entered his car and settled himself on the driver seat, placing his hands firmly on the steering wheel. Drumming his fingers on the helm, he waited for his sister who just walked out of the flower shop with a bundle of sunflowers in her hands.

He raised an eyebrow and inwardly smiled at this view.

His sister knew him too well.

-x-

The moment he stepped inside the dimmed room, he could smell her sweet scent faintly among the antiseptic smell which dominated the room. He opened the door wider and peered at his sister through his shoulder, inviting her to come in with him, but Aoi just shook her head and shoved the simple bouquet of sunflowers to his direction.

"You go," she suggested, smiling up at him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Don't you want to visit her?"

Aoi rolled her eyes, walked to him, and forcefully placed the bouquet in his hands. "Just go first. I'll see her later after she's awake," she said. "Besides, you barely saw her now." Squeezing his hands one last time, his sister gave him a reassuring smile and patted his back.

He stared at his sister in blank for a while, before nodding and gripping the sunflowers in his hands a bit tighter. He then faced the spacious room in front of him and, narrowing his eyes, he could see a figure laying on the bed, undisturbed by their conversation. As he took two steps further into the room, he could hear the sound of door closing with a soft 'click' behind him. The bright light from the corridor was gone and he was left alone with two choices; to move on or to back out.

Taking a deep breath, he moved his feet to the direction of the bed, eyes focused on the lump on top of the comfy mattress. His step was hesitant, and yet he didn't stop. With each step taken, he was getting closer with the figure, and the nervousness he had tried to suppress started to build up in his throat.

The dimmed lamp on the bedside table allowed him to see the brunette's face clearly, even from five feet away. The way the illumination created shadows on her face made his heart thump. His brain deceivingly reminded him of the last time he saw her. Comparing to his last visit, she looked even thinner. Her cheek bones were visible now, and the used to be looking fresh and red lips were now pale.

With her eyes being closed like this, she looked lifeless.

Carefully, he placed the bouquet of sunflowers on the bedside table and dragged an empty seat to the side of the bed. Sitting on the chair, he watched her intensely, eyes scanning her pale face. He lifted his right hand and, gently, trailed the contour of her face with his fingers.

She stirred, causing his fingers to stop moving.

He held his breath, expecting her eyelids to open and stare at him with those mesmerizing brown eyes.

But that didn't happen.

The brunette just heaved a small sigh before going back to her peaceful slumber again, leaving him with slight disappointment. Nevertheless, he sighed in relief at this and continued to run his finger lightly on her soft whitish skin, closing his eyes as silence overwhelmed him.

"Mikan…" he spoke her name ever so gently, full of affection. His hand found their way to her scrawny one and his fingers initiatively wrapped around it, squeezing it with the tenderness of a lover.

She made no response, trapped in her deep, serene sleep.

He brought her hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss on her knuckle. "I came to visit you," he mumbled against her skin and let his lips linger on it for a while before giving it another kiss.

Another soft sigh was her answer.

He lifted his other hand and enclosed them around her hand, his gaze still on her as he drowned himself in his own thought, remembering those days they had gone through together. He closed his eyes as he imagined her annoyed face, her smile, and her soothing voice.

It seemed months had passed since they were bickering at each other; it seemed to be years since he saw her smile; and it seemed to be forever since the last time he heard her voice.

God. He never thought he would miss her so badly in just six weeks of not visiting her.

It wasn't because he hated her; it wasn't because she made a mistake to him that he didn't want to visit her. He wanted to, so desperate.

But he wanted to make her happy even more.

And so, for the sake of her happiness, he decided to not to visit her for a while, in order to fulfill her dream; her one and only wish in her lifetime.

"Just a bit longer…" he whispered, leaning over to plant a kiss on her forehead. "Just a bit longer and I'll make you the happiest woman in this world…"

And just like that, he left the brunette in her undisturbed slumber once again.

-x-

"This is nice."

His forehead wrinkled at the sight in front of him.

The gown Aoi showed him was fine. It was good actually, but it was too showed off. It had no sleeve and the back of the gown was bare. Though it would look beautiful on any female, he was more concerned with the woman who would wear it later.

Shaking his head, he tore his attention from the gown and walked away, leaving his bewildered sister behind. "It's too revealing," was his only comment as his eyes wandered to other gowns.

Today was the last day of the preparation of the party and he had called Anna to handle the catering and the cake for the celebration. All he needed now was a gown, a specific white dress.

That was one of the reasons why he still let his sister accompany him to everywhere, helping him with the preparation for his surprise party; a special party on top of it. Though he had quite good taste in arranging and choosing things, he wanted another opinion he could compare with. Besides, he needed to make sure he was doing all right.

He heaved a sigh and continued surveying the gowns which were being displayed in the luxurious boutique. None of them were good enough in his eyes; some of them were revealing, some had too many accessories, and some just…had bad styles.

More sighs escaped from his lips as his eyes traveled further. All he thought of whenever he saw those gowns was no, no, and no. None of them reminded him of her. None of them suited her characteristic.

Stopping in his track, he brought one hand to his temple and massaged it in circular motion, attempting to soothe his tired brain.

This had been the third shop he visited and yet, he hadn't found the right gown for the brunette. He did find a few styles of dresses he was okay with, but there was always something in those dresses he didn't like, whether it was the material, the piling up layers under the skirt, or because it was just too plain, not having any pattern on the fabric.

He groaned inwardly. What if he didn't find the perfect gown until the last minute? He could have some tailors to make one for him, but would it be finished right on time?

"How about this?" Aoi's voice brought him back to reality.

Natsume glanced at his sister through his shoulder and found her pointing to a certain direction. Raising an eyebrow in wonder, he turned to his back and walked approaching his sister. His eyes followed her pointing finger to the right side and widened a bit at what he saw.

"So?"

Focusing his gaze back to Aoi, the corner of his lips tugged upward.

"Perfect."

Aoi smiled back at him. "I'll call the shopkeeper," she said before turning away and ran to the shopkeeper she spotted first.

Natsume exhaled as he watched his sister's back and then fished out his cell-phone from his pocket. He dialed a certain number and then brought the phone to his ear, eyes staring at the gown the whole time while he waited for the call to be picked up.

"_Hello, this is Luca Nogi._"

He smiled inwardly upon hearing his best friend's voice and spoke, "Luca, the preparation is finished."

-x-

Standing in the middle of green field, Natsume stared at the night sky, hands in his pockets. Tonight, there was no cloud. Stars could be seen sparkling up there, lightening up the night sky. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight. The river of stars completed the night, making it more perfect than he expected it to be.

"Are you nervous?"

He averted his gaze down to his new companion, who turned out to be Luca, and shrugged his shoulders. "Do I look like it?" he asked back, straightening his body. His eyes wandered around the open field, watching as their close friends enjoying his little party, chattering and taking drinks.

The blonde haired man chuckled. "Sometimes, you're hard to be guessed."

Natsume gave his best friend a wryly smile and stared far away to the horizon. "I believe you know what I'm feeling right now."

Luca have a slight nod. "Sort of," he answered before he, too, moved his gaze to the direction the raven haired man was staring at. "I never thought this day would come so soon. Seeing the way you looked at those girls around you, I thought you would be living alone forever." At this, Luca covered his mouth right away, eyes glancing at Natsume warily, guilty swimming in them.

A frown managed to make its way to the raven haired man's face for a few seconds as Luca's words downed on him. Inside his pockets, his hands clenched so hard that he thought it could draw blood anytime soon. His entire body tensed up, and he knew Luca could feel it too when he saw the other boy fidgeting from the corner of his eye.

No, he wasn't mad with Luca. He was afraid; frightened to be reminded of the difficult situation he was in.

"Look, Natsume, I'm sorry…I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine," he cut Luca off and closed his eyes. He willed himself to calm down, inhaling and exhaling a few times.

Slowly, he uncurled his fists, trying to be relaxed once more. He kept on reminding himself of the reason why he was here. He didn't want to ruin this night. This was the night he had been waiting for so long, a special night. He would regret it for his whole lifetime if he ruined this happiness, her happiness.

"It's fine," he reiterated, breathing softly. "You're right."

"Natsume…"

He placed one hand on Luca's shoulder and murmured, "Enjoy this while you can…" He threw a cheerless smile to the blonde haired man before placing his hand back in his pocket again and walked away, just in time to see a black car emerging from the thin line of horizon.

Smirking, he made his way to the simple altar he had placed and was satisfied when he saw Kokoro had also been standing there with a bible in his hands. Natsume gave a slight nod to the grinning man and turned his attention to the car, which stopped at the end of the white carpet leading to the altar where he was waiting now.

The door opened and Hotaru stepped out of the car in her violet dress, looking sophisticated as ever. Even though she was as pokerfaced as ever, joy could be seen in her eyes as she trailed her gaze around the field. She then nodded in approval before bending down and sticking her head back into the car again.

This time, Tsubasa came out of the driver door in black tuxedo, grinning widely as he went to the back door and pulled the handle open.

And finally, the person he had been anticipating the most went out of the car wearing the gown he had bought three days ago. At first, the brunette looked around in perplexity, clearly having no idea where she was brought to and why.

His breath was caught in his throat when her eyes landed on him. Those hazel eyes widened a bit for seconds, surprised by his presence. She then smiled warmly, staring at him with longing, before linking her arm around Tsubasa's arm and made her way toward him. Behind them, Hotaru sneaked away and approached Luca, eyes not once leaving the brunette.

Natsume couldn't stop looking at Mikan. The white dress he bought for her fitted her thin and small body, and its long sleeves covered her arms, hiding the blue marks on her skin away from public view. The dress indeed covered almost all of her skin, except for her head, but that didn't make her look stupid. If anything else, she looked innocent and modest, just like her characteristic. With her hair tied in a bun and being adorned by a transparent veil, and the bouquet of white carnations and daisies in her gloved hands, she looked breathtaking to him.

No female could be compared to her, the one who he would spend the rest of her lifetime with. His bride.

When they finally reached him, Tsubasa took the brunette's hand and led her to the groom. "Don't make her cry," he warned, a teasing grin on his face.

Natsume gladly received Mikan's hand and, shooting an irritated glare at the older male, he replied, "Never."

The brunette blushed and pretended to smell her bouquet as her left arm found their way to the groom's right arm. He, on the other side, placed one hand on the brunette's hand and squeezed it gently before leading her to the altar, to the place where Kokoro was grinning even widely as they moved closer.

"You surprised me," she whispered, staring at the fake priest who quickly opened his bible.

'_The weddings you planned are always great.'_

"Did I?" he questioned, focusing his attention on the altar.

'_Are they?'_

"It's like a dream," she breathed, her eyes glazing with unshed tears.

'_Mhm…I wish I can have a wonderful wedding ceremony like that too…one day…'_

"This isn't a dream." They stopped right in front of the altar and he obtained the chance to look at her.

'_I can make one for you.'_

'_Really?'_

She nodded and her smile wavered from holding back the tears. "It's amazing, Natsume…"

'_Only if you wish hard enough.'_

Seeing her smile, he felt the burden he had carried for weeks being lifted from him and he immediately relaxed when Koko started his speech.

He found himself failing to remember the unpleasant reality that would confront them again once all of this had been over, feeling too contented and delighted with what he achieved now. The brunette's presence did no better to bring him out of the bliss, only drowning him deeper into it.

And he did nothing to prevent it.

That night, he shut his brain and stopped thinking everything else, but him and her together.

That night, he allowed himself to forget anything, just enjoying the remarkable moment with her.

And when the priest looked at him expectantly, he had nothing to say but "I do."

-Fin-

**And that concluded this story.**

**Well, this is actually a piece of scenes from one of my future fics which happened to appear all of a sudden in my head when I was typing it. Yes, this isn't the original story I did for the contest. The original one is too long and it doesn't fit with one of the rules: '****maximum 10000 words'. Worst, if I forced it into 10000 words, it would look rush.**

**And so, I decided to make the first idea into a long one and take a small part of the scenes to be the fic for the contest.**

**Happy ending? I wonder…**

**Thanks for reading it until the last. I hope you like it.**

**And as usual, comments will be appreciated.**

**Regards,**

**illutia mist**


End file.
